NEW YORK — The Yankees have spent months chasing the same short list of catchers. With the deadline closing in, that list just got harder to shop and longer to read.
Catcher has been the clearest hole on the Yankees roster all season. Brian Cashman has said as much, calling the offense at the position a genuine concern even as the defense holds up. The front office has treated a bat behind the plate as a top deadline priority.
The reason is Austin Wells. The starting catcher has cratered at the plate after a 21-homer season a year ago. He is slashing .163/.263/.261 with a .524 OPS and a wRC+ well below 50, one of the worst marks among qualified hitters in the majors.
For weeks the names attached to the Yankees rarely changed. Ryan Jeffers of the Twins, Hunter Goodman of the Rockies and Shea Langeliers of the Athletics formed the wish list. Recent reporting suggests all three are now increasingly unlikely to move.
A pair of fallback names enters the picture
That is where two fresh options have surfaced. As the top targets slip away, the Yankees have been tied to Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson and, separately, to Miami’s Liam Hicks. Both would represent an upgrade over what New York is running out now.
Stephenson arrived in the conversation through a new deadline report from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Reds are seven games under .500 and positioned to sell, and Stephenson is playing out the final year of his contract at a $6.8 million salary.
The fit is built on timing as much as talent. Cincinnati has little reason to let a walk-year player leave for nothing, and New York needs production the position has not delivered. Stephenson is the kind of controllable-for-now rental a contender can absorb without gutting its farm system.
Hicks is the other new name, and he comes from a very different situation. The Marlins are 52-46 and not selling, which changes the math on any deal. Miami would want major-league-ready pieces in return, not prospects, a demand that could pull a Yankees arm into the talks.
Stephenson braces for a move he cannot control
The player at the center of the Reds’ decision is not hiding from it. Stephenson has acknowledged that trade talk has followed him all year, and that his walk-year status made this deadline feel inevitable. He spoke about it plainly to his hometown paper.
“We’ve had conversations,” Stephenson said. “But we’ve got no control over it.”
He added that he entered the season understanding what it might bring, given that he is a year from free agency. That clarity matters for the Yankees, because a player already braced for a move is one less complication in a tight deadline window.
The numbers support the interest. Stephenson is hitting .244/.320/.393 with eight home runs and a 92 wRC+ overall, but he has been far better lately. Over his last 30 games he has hit .320 with four homers and an .871 OPS. Behind the plate, his plus-11 blocks above average lead all of baseball.
Hicks offers versatility the Yankees roster lacks
Hicks brings a different kind of value. The 27-year-old debuted last year and is hitting .289/.362/.455 with a 124 wRC+. He is controllable through 2030, which makes him more than a rental and raises his price accordingly.
His flexibility is the selling point. Hicks has caught, played first base and served as a designated hitter this season, a profile that would let New York platoon him with Wells rather than bench a former top prospect outright. He is a pull-heavy hitter with strong contact metrics, including elite strikeout and whiff rates.
The catch is that Miami is not in sell mode. A deal would require the Yankees to send back help that plays now. Right-hander Will Warren, whose rotation spot has grown crowded, has been floated as the type of piece that could headline such a return.
Both new names carry the same underlying message. The Yankees are widening their search because their preferred targets are drifting out of reach, and the position remains too important to leave unaddressed.
The clock tightens on a long-running need
The Yankees enter the weekend at the top of the American League standings but locked in a tight AL East race. Their pitching has carried them through a stretch of injuries and a cold lineup. A catcher who can hit would ease the pressure on both.
Nothing about either new option is close to done. Stephenson faces competition, with the White Sox reported to be pushing hard for catching help after an injury of their own. Hicks would cost a useful major-league arm the Yankees may prefer to keep.
For now, the Yankees have more names than answers. The Aug. 3 deadline will force the issue, and the club’s monthslong hunt for a catcher has quietly expanded to include two players who were not on the radar a week ago.
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